The Penn's Grove record., 1887-05-14

and, if you like, you can go on to tho
mountains. l can assure you, at any
rate, of a royal time when you are with
me. 1 can hardly say how disappointed
| will be if you are unable to come.
Please telegraph if you will come. Very
gratefully yours, EDWARD DAVIES.
Here was a holiday, but it was even
more delightful TO be remembers | in
this kind of way. What a pleasant
feeling this unexpected letter gave mel
OF course / t~elegraphed my acceptance
of Mr.. Davies offer.
Two or three weeks later I took the
western train from Winnipeg, sped past
Portage la Prairie, lying amid its yellow
ing wheat fields; on across the long,
green levels of the plains, with settlers
huts rising here and there, through the
sandhill country, with its stunted trees
ard marshy hollows; along the valleys
of Assinidolne, where Brandon stands;
on to Regina, and on and on westward
for a couple of days, till we come to the
land of streams and mighty pastures,
and could almost persuade ourselves
that we could see the far-off blue of the
Rockies, and Calgary was reached.
Here Davies, his friend jim Thomp-
son and two other young ranchmen met
me, all determined to show every atten-
ton possible to the 'parson." We spent
a night in Calgary, a stirring town of
the true western type, with its own
local coloring in cowboys and miners
and railroad men. Early next morning
we set out for Mans ranch, as Thomp-
son called his place, a drive of some
seventy miles. Davies and | had a
blackboard, and the others were on
horset ack. During the day and a half
we were travelling, Davies gave me an
account of what had happened since |
had seen him last. He was in high
spirits, as was natural. How he enjoyed
lifel He spoke of the freedom and
healthfulness of the plains; then of the
money that was being made out of the
great herds. lie was now a partner of
ThompSon's; an uncle had left him some
money, and he had ''chipped in with
Jim," as he expressed it. Yes, they
were doing very well. He bad built a
house in the spring-ah, yes, he was
engaged before that, he said, with a
happy look on his s%un-tanned face.
Then the young lady he vas going to
marry-what a wonderful and gracious,
little woman she wasl English, like
himself, he said; but devoted to Canada.
He said so many pretty things about
this sweetheart of hisl If the converse
ton was inclined to flag about the cat
tie and the country, a word about the
girl and off he went like a ~sky-rocket.
Next day the marriage took place in
Jim T~hompson's house; there was a
table for an altar, and a couple of cush-
ions for the bride and bridegroom to
kneel on, and a few chairs for the
others in a big room which certainly
had never been used for such a purpose
before. The ride had arrived late the
previous evening, and so did not see
her until she came up to the improvised
altar. Lo, it wa my Dresden picture!
| recognized her at once, but think
she had forgotten me. After the SER
vices was over and l had made the pair
my congratulations, | whispered to her
that l was glad to see that she had
found her mission" She smiled and
said that she knew me now. Had she
not met me in Winnipeg two years agol
Shortly afterward, she told me, she had
gone out to Fort Macleod.
What a scene to be remembered was
the bridal feastl The whole-soul enjoy
ment, the genuine, light-hearted laugh
ter Of these young fellows-there we're
troops of them from many a distant
ranch, who had come to ''see Ned
through" How attentively they wait
ed on the young ladies that were pres
anti What n brinht mot in OneiS memo
ries is all thisl
When l proposed the BRIDES health
how they manage to get champagne III
these northwestern territories, notwith-
standing the prohibitory legislation, it
is not for me to say alluded, but very
slightly, to the chain of curious coinci-
dences | have recorded under the name
of Meeting Streams.